GSR Continuing Story
by TraceZBullet
Summary: There's no telling what this story will be about! A group of people at TV. com are writing this chapter by chapter. Tune in for a surprise!
1. Chapter 1 Trace

**Note: This story is being written by a group of people at tv . com. Each chapter will be about 500 words and will be approximately PG-14. Revews of respective chapters will be passed on to their authors. This chapter is written by me, TraceZBullet. **

**Unbeta'd.**

**Chapter One**

"I'll see you later?" It was more of a question than a statement and his voice was tinged with what he would call concern. He didn't know what he would do if she turned him down now. Somebody bustled past between them. Was it too late?

One look at those hopeful baby blues, and her heart relented. "Yeah, you will," Sara replied and smiled despite herself. Then, still smelling badly of something rotting, she bolted for the locker room and a hot shower. The smile stayed plastered to her face so hard it hurt but she couldn't stop it. "I love that man," she whispered to herself and stopped for a second. Had someone overheard?

Thankfully, the room was pleasantly empty. She disrobed and turned on the spray of water. Grissom's words were stuck in her head. Of course he didn't think he'd done anything wrong but the way he had greeted her…she had been sure he was going to grab her right there in the middle of the lab. The warm water slid down her shoulders and carried the grime down the drain. Steam rose and she sighed contentedly in the warmth.

She couldn't wait to see him again. To hold his hand, to share his embrace. It nearly put her out of her mind.

The sound of the locker room door opening startled her from her half-asleep state. There was no voice to give her a clue but she already had an inkling. Her stomach flip-flopped. "Grissom!" she called out, "I know what you're thinking! We don't have time though, okay?" No matter how much she wished it. There was no answer after a few seconds. Uh oh. She could picture him, still out of his mind with lust and thinking he could hop in the shower—

"Sara?" It was a female voice. Damn!

She looked frantically around the shower for a blunt object to end the misery before it began. Too quickly though, Sophia poked her face around the wall that separated the lockers from the large group shower. Still cursing under her breath, Sara shut off the water and grabbed a towel before the steam cleared.

"Detective Curtis," Sara said with forced sweetness, "what a nice surprise." More graphic swearwords bounced around her mind as Curtis smirked her little smirk.

"If you want, I'll go get Grissom for you," the other woman offered. Sadly enough, she appeared to be serious. Where was that damn blunt object? Imagining Sophia bleeding on the wet tile, Sara giggled. "Was that a yes?" Sophia asked, slightly surprised and appalled. Wouldn't that be a funny conversation? Sara could picture it now:

"_Mr. Grissom, Sara asked me to tell you she's naked and wet in the women's locker room and would you like to join her?"_

"_Umm…err…huh…urggg…"_

"_I'll go tell her you said you'd be happy too" _

Forcing her features to straighten, Sara shook her head. "No thanks, now if you don't mind I'm going to get dressed," she said and swept past the sadly un-bloodied cop.


	2. Chapter 2 csiroxmysox

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people is doing together. The following chapter was written by csiroxmysox. Any reviews will be passed on to her. **

Chapter 2

Now dressed, Sara sat down on the bench to dry her hair; crazy thoughts ran through her head, would Sofia tell the others about her little outburst? Or even worse tell Ecklie? Trying to put these worrying thoughts to the back of her mind, she got up, grabbed her stuff and left the locker room.

Meanwhile, Grissom was driving home, listening to the radio. Suddenly he recognized a song he hadn't heard in a while, the last time he had heard it was when he was driving to deliver the money to the guy who had taken Nick and placed him in a plastic box. That drive was the worst of his life; he couldn't get rid of the thoughts asking what he would be doing if it was Sara in that box. Hearing this song made him uncomfortable and he turned the radio off.

Arriving at his house, Grissom opened the front door to the organized mss he called a living room. After moving some paper work (that had been due two months ago) out the way, he made his way to the kitchen where he stopped at the fridge, thinking about what might happen tonight, he hoped he wouldn't mess it up again like last time, he didn't know not all girls like fancy restaurants, he thought it was the same for them all, but how wrong he was. Taking a lettuce out the fridge he wondered what they would talk about, recent cases, how much they hated Ecklie and Sofia or the state of Grissom's house and cooking skills. He hoped it wouldn't come to the latter as he looked around the room. He returned to slicing the lettuce, a simple pasta salad was all he was making, the recipe for which he had got out a cookbook.

The doorbell rang and he opened the door to a beautiful young woman, Sara. Allowing her in, he walked back to the kitchen, signaling for her to follow. Unfazed by the mess, she sat down on the sofa and sparked some conversation.

"You know I'd never thought of you as the kind of person to keep his place tidy" she remarked. "I'm being honest, my place is twice as bad, and the only room in my house that's tidy is the spare room, probably because I don't use it"

Then Grissom came in holding two plates, handing one to her, he joined her on the sofa.


	3. Chapter 3 Fiona

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at Tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by CSIFiona. Any reviews will be passed on to her. **

**Chapter 3**

"You cooked… tofu kebabs? For me?" Sara asked. She was touched at Grissom's thoughtfulness. Grissom nodded. He said "I remembered you said they were your favourite," and took a bite. Sara laughed. She tried some of her own. She had never figured Grissom to be the cooking type, but this wasn't bad. It fact it was delicious.

Grissom smiled at the look on her face. He could tell she was enjoying it. They were so intune he could always tell if what she was feeling. If she had a bad day, he knew. When he was going to be leaving, she new something was the matter.

"This is nice," she told Grissom. "What recipe did you use?"  
"I didn't use a recipe. I used to cook all the time for my mum. She couldn't do anything but toast. And even then, she always burnt it." Sara laughed. Talking about their families didn't come easily to either of them. It was nice to share funny things that used to happen. Sara shivered. She remembered talking about her parents to Grissom, on the day she was nearly fired (that was the best and worst day of her life, as it was also the day she finally managed to convince Grissom to go on a date with her) and how it used to be in her house… then, long-forgotten memories started floating to the top.

The sound of skin-on-skin… the sharp cry of her mum… the noise of skin hitting the floor… and then the sound of a gun shot. Then, all was silent except the sounds of a teenager's cry. Her mum held her tightly, stroking her hair, calming her down.

The sirens came. One of the neighbours had heard the gunshot and called the police. She felt her and mum being pulled apart, and started crying again. What was going on?

Sara suddenly started crying. She didn't know where they came from but the tears slid down her face. She felt Grissom cuddling her, holding her hand, asking her "What's wrong"

"You talking about you family… and I thought of mine…" a fresh wave of tears came pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She hadn't cried like this since that time 2 years ago, when she had decided to move passed all that. She felt Grissom wiping away her tears, telling her he hadn't thought. Sara said "Sorry, it's my fault, I promised myself I would move past all that. And, I've spilt my dinner everywhere." Sara started crying again, for no apparent reason other then messing up Grissom's couch.

Sara felt Grissom's smooth fingers on her lips, and slowly, she parted her lips, his mouth on hers, their tongues entwined. She clung on round Grissom for dear life, scared that if she broke the kiss, she would start crying again.

Finally, they both needed air, and broke the kiss. Sara was smiling through her tears. Gil smiled back, seemed to be making his mind up about something, and then asked " Sara… woulod you like to move in with me? "


	4. Chapter 4 Clara

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at Tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Clara. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

At first she was convinced she had misheard him. It all seemed too surreal;  
his hand was still resting on her cheek, her face was so close to his. She  
drew in a breath and looked up into his kindly eyes, wondering what truth  
she would find there.

And then she knew he loved her. She kissed him once on the lips, by way  
of an answer. She couldn't seem to say the words, but he appeared to  
understand by hugging her close to him and kissing her head. She let out a  
laugh – it was spontaneous and she wasn't sure why she had done it, except  
that a warm feeling had spread through her, so contrasted to what had just  
happened. Before, there had been too many words to say to each other; so  
many excuses, so many things that they could never have said. Now, no words  
were needed. So many things had changed.

She lifted her head over his shoulder and surveyed the room.  
'We'll have to do something about this place then,' she whispered,  
teasingly. She broke away and grinned.  
He appeared amused, 'I should never had asked. You let someone in-'  
'They redecorate.'  
'That's not what I meant.'  
'I know.'

He gave her a small smile. She always knew what he meant. When others  
were confused by his wry humour, she always met his eyes with a cute grin.  
Again he realised how lucky he was, how undeserving he perceived himself to  
be. And every time there she was, taking his hand and reminding him that  
she was the lucky one.

She was looking at him now, challenging him, 'I'm not psychic, you know.  
What are you thinking?'  
'You could have fooled me.' He paused, 'nothing important.'  
She gave him a lopsided smile, not believing a word, 'of course not. Gil  
Grissom sometimes has redundant thoughts, right?'  
'Right.'  
'I have news though.' She looked serious now, 'I think Sophia knows about  
us.'  
He groaned, 'you think?'  
'I know,' she took his hand, 'but it won't matter much anymore, will it?  
We'll have to tell them all the truth now.'  
He grimaced 'I don't think I'm ready for that yet.'  
'We can wait for a little while,' she touched his chest, ''till you get  
the courage.'  
'Hmm.'

They were silent for a while. It wasn't uncomfortable, more  
companionable. Sara ran through her mind how the others would react. Maybe  
they wouldn't be surprised. Somehow so far they had got away with it; but  
there was always the possibility some of their colleagues harbored  
suspicions but had tactfully chosen not to voice them. She herself had  
fears over how much Catherine suspected.  
It was hard to fool her.

-- -- --

It was never night in Vegas.  
The strip blazed with luminescent fire, drawing in the crowds with the  
promise of warmth, fuelled by a desire for licentious acts. You can't hear  
the noise from up here, the complete assault on the senses which takes even  
the strong minded on a tour of Vegas's paraded delights. For we see it from  
above; the landscape is alight within a sea of barren darkness. From here  
we are given perspective on the scene – a knowledge of which precious few  
have witnessed. The strip is only a small part of the town – there is much  
else to be seen.

For although many dark things happen on these brightest of parades, darker  
things happen elsewhere.

You can light a candle to reveal secrets, or you can curse the darkness.  
All people keep secrets and desires; but only a few act on these desires.

We find ourselves at ground level now, somewhere in the suburbs. There is a  
house here, a window, a figure in the darkness beyond.

They have desires, too. Acting on them could be deadly.

-- -- --

Sara's phone rang. She looked up at Grissom apologetically. It was never  
the right time.

Not recognizing the number, she flipped it open. 'Hello?'  
And the phone went dead.


	5. Chapter 5 Blue

**Note (as always): This chapter is written as part of a continuing story written by the GSR club at tv .com. The following chapter was written by Blue. Any reviews will be passed on to her.**

**Chapter Five**

_Not recognizing the number, she flipped it open._

"_Hello?'"_

_And the phone went dead._

"Hello?" she said again into her phone. Grissom just watched her patiently as she strained her ear to hear a non-existent voice on the other line. Sara lifted the phone from her ear and looked at it.

"No Battery." She said shrugging her shoulders. She closed her phone and placed it in her back pocket. She turned and kissed him softly but broke off quicker then normal.

"I'll pack up tonight, settle things tomorrow, and move in on Saturday, okay?" She told Grissom before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Okay." Grissom responded standing and walking her to the door.

"Thank you for dinner." Sara said as she turned and faced him, her back against the door. She gently pressed her lips to his as her hands went to his neck, and his to her waist. It was long and sweet, the kiss that so many girls dreamed to have. They broke off for air and smiled. Grissom put his hands to her neck and gently kissed her forehead before opening the door and letting her leave.

The next day was as normal as it could be. Sara couldn't help notice Sofia throwing glances her and Grissom's way when she happened to walk into the room to deliver messages from Brass or other cops. At that moment she had wished it _was_ Grissom that came in the bathroom that day.

"_Of all people…"_ Sara thought shaking her head. It could've been anyone! It could've been a random homeless person off the street, it could've a wanted criminal, it could've been a flying quesadilla and a talking llama for all she cared, but it had to be Sofia. She shook her head sadly as she finished up the report for her and Greg's last case. Nick, Catherine, and Warrick walked into the break room as she closed the case file and put it in the large case box to be put in storage.

"Finishing up?" Warrick asked her as Greg walked in to bring the box to storage.

"Yep. Thanks Greg." She responded and thanked Warrick and Greg respectively.

"No prob." Greg replied as he lifted up the box and walked out of the room.

"Assignments." Grissom announced as he walked into the room with several small slips of paper in his hand.

"What do have for us boss?" Nick questioned his supervisor.

"Two cases. Sara, Nick, and Greg" he raised his voice so Greg could here him as he walked back into the room. "you're with me. Triple homicide in Henderson, one female, two males, appears to be murder/suicide."

"Oh, interesting." Sara responded quirking an eyebrow.

"Should be." Grissom responded "Cath, Warrick, armed robbery, two people inured, enjoy."

"Oh goodie, lucky us." Catherine said sarcastically, taking the paper from Grissom.

"Lets roll, I'll drive." Warrick said to Catherine as they walked out of the room to their crime scene.

The group of four left in the room looked at each other before simultaneously walking out the room to their respective cars and onto the crime.

Grissom, Sara, Nick, and Greg stood outside the large beautiful house where unseen evidence and rose red blood were scattered across the inside of its walls. There was a body of a young woman, mid to late 20's, sprawled out at the bottom of the grand white marble staircase. She was wearing a small, purple, skimpy night dress with a white lace collar and hem. Her waist length, straight, dark brown hair pooled around slender form as David took her liver temperature without stepping in the puddle of blood that surrounded her mid-section that sprouted from a bullet wound on her abdomen. Sara and Greg stopped to process the body and collect evidence as Nick and Grissom proceeded upstairs to the other two bodies.


	6. Chapter 6 Ren

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Ren. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Sara lay in bed later that morning. Her eyes were closed but she was nowhere near sleeping. She wasn't even resting. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. Images and words were playing around her head so fast she almost felt dizzy. The room was spinning, so she tried to stay as still as possible and take deep breaths. Anything to calm her nerves and allow her to at least snooze for a while, anything that would allow her not to dream of a brunette lying dead at the bottom of the stairs and the blood bathing the walls.

Grissom lay in bed later that morning. He had been sleeping. Until Sara had pulled herself out of his arms and so close to the edge of the bed that he was surprised she didn't fall right off. He could hear her breathing. Deeply, slowly, concentrated, forced, planned. He recognized that particular timbre related to the air she was pushing in and out of her lungs. He knew that it would not help to try to comfort her with soft touches or soothing words. His Sara was at the edge of some personal abyss and only she could bring herself back from the side of the cliff. She was the strongest person he knew, but also, at times, the weakest. Grissom liked to listen to classical music or read a book of poetry to relax after a really hard case. Sara liked to run, but only after she had got some sleep and had the energy to push her body to the physical limits required to delete the pictures out of her head. Sometimes this meant she fell asleep fast and woke up early. He would wake up to the sound of her singing in the shower, washing away the sweat and the tears from her run. But, more often than not, she would lay in bed, as still as the corpses she processed, attempting to shut her mind by sheer force of will.

In the darkness of the room, created through thick black curtains as opposed to the blackness of night, Sara began to speak. She talked about the poor young girl who had ended up dead. She talked about the two men who had both seemed to love the young girl, but had ended up dead themselves. She talked about the DNA from the blood, the trace from their clothes, the toxicology reports on their stomach contents, the house full of fingerprints from all three victims, and the ballistics from the gun they had recovered on scene. The more she talked, the closer she moved to Grissom. By the time she got to Bobby's report that the bullets did not match the gun owned by Beth, he was holding her as she caressed his hands. What she didn't talk about was what had been bothering her ever since she left the lab early that morning. Three people were dead and they had no suspect. No evidence of a fourth person ever having been in that house, except for the fact that three people were dead, and someone else had killed all of them. Someone had managed to enter, kill, and exit leaving no prints, no trace, no DNA, no ballistics, nothing.

It was Grissom who brought up the "invisible man" first. Sara had laughed. He knew she was back to using her mind to solve the case, not drown in it. They thought of about five more pieces of evidence they wanted to have tested, and two more areas of the house they wanted to search again for that elusive sign that there had actually been a forth person in that house. Sara mumbled something about deliveries and service technicians, but before the thought had fully moved from her brain to her mouth, she was asleep. Grissom kissed her forehead and closed his own eyes. Together they slept, dead to the rest of the world as Beth, Tim, and Rick. Nothing could rouse them for the next six hours. Not even the three voicemails left on Sara's phone. Each message was only one word in length. At 10:15am, it was "You". Exactly three hours and six minutes later, the gravel voice was back with the word "missed". It was just seconds before 3:00pm that the third voicemail was time stamped. It would be hours before Sara retrieved her messages and heard the last word. It echoed through the empty break room where she was trying to pour herself a cup of coffee and figure out how she had placed her phone on vibrate. As the voice on the other end of the cell whispered "something, " Sara dropped her phone to the floor.


	7. Chapter 7 Jess

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Jess. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

She had been there for hours. Her knees were sore from bending down, her eyes drooped from lack of sleep, and her stomach rumbled with hunger.

But she hadn't found one piece of new evidence.

It aggravated her that some random man had gotten a hold of her cell phone number and had left the messages at the time that she wouldn't pick up. But had that been on purpose? What if she had pick up when he called? Maybe it wasn't a random person – what if it was someone she knew personally? That would make sense; how else would they have gotten the number? That would also explain how they knew when to call – whoever it was knew her schedule.

Sara sighed heavily and stood up, her brain exhausted from so many thoughts being tossed around.

"Sara? Why are you still here?" She looked up as Greg sauntered into the bedroom of the crime scene. She hadn't told him – or anyone – about the messages yet, and silently wondered if she should.

"I- uh- just wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything. I… I have the feeling we did." Sara was surprised at her own secrecy, but she supposed it was for the better; after all, she didn't want anyone to fear for her. She could take care of herself.

"Oh. Need some help?" His eyes were full of kindness and innocence, and Sara suddenly felt guilty for keeping the information from him.

"No, that's ok. I'm pretty much done for now." Greg nodded his response as she stood up and picked up her forensics kit. "Thanks, though."

They started toward the door, but as they did so a flash of light hit Sara in the face for a split second. "Wh- What was that?!" She turned toward the wide glass doors of the balcony and walked toward them, and, stepping out onto the deck, she blinked in the harsh sunlight.

"What happened?" Greg came to stand next her, looking blankly around.

"I don't know. I think some sort of reflection from the sun hit me."

"And you think it came in through the glass in that door?"

"All of the other glass windows in the room have curtains covering them." Greg nodded and both CSIs stood there for a few moments, looking for the source of the light. "Hey Greg, do you see that?" Sara said suddenly a minute later, pointing at the house across the street.

"What am I looking for?"

"I think it's a— oh my god. It's a telescope."

"Where?"

"It's on the balcony of the house right across from this one. And it's… it's pointed straight toward this window. The sunlight must have hit it just right to make it shine right at me."

"I see it. But why would someone be looking at a house through a telescope? Wouldn't they be looking at stars or something?"

"You would think so. Maybe they were…" Sara's voice trailed off. Could this be the thing they missed? Was a neighbor watching the victims, just waiting for the right time to strike?

_You missed something._ The words resounded in her head. Maybe that something had been right in front of them all along.

Maybe this was that something.


	8. Chapter 8 Dev

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Dev. Any reviews will be passed on to her. **

**WARNING: This chapter contains SMUT!! Yes, gasp , and is not suitable for younger/sheltered people. If it offends you, do not read. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8**

With some quick paperwork faxed from the courthouse, a fast arrival by the LVPD, and an even faster arrival by Grissom, Sara and Greg were able to access the telescope room across the street. Room 22B, Sara checked for the hundredth time, although she knew that she had counted the windows correctly from the other side. Brass and the team looked poised to rip down the door with a battering ram, his men all itching to destroy someone else's property. Grissom just rolled his eyes and stepped up to the potted plant near the door, his fingers rooting around for a moment before he pulled out a key caked with dirt. One of the men in the back grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "spoilsport", but Grissom ignored it and placed the key in the lock.

The lights were off when the door swung open, and once he fumbled for a light switch and turned it on, everyone just wanted to shut the door again and forget about the whole thing.

The entire room was trashed, but not as if someone had broken in –rather, it looked as if someone lived in a pigsty. Old slices of cake, pizza boxes, Chinese take out menus, everything littered the floor as though there had been a delivery food explosion in the middle of the room. What was on the walls, however, was even scarier than the sanitary conditions of the floor.

Pictures of Sara hung everywhere on the walls, large blow-up size pictures that were blurry, and looked as though shot by an amateur. There were some of her in her apartment as she did mundane tasks –cleaning the kitchen, watering the small herb garden on her balcony, curled up in a chair reading a book. All were shot from odd angles, and there were many takes of the same shot, though most of them were bad, cutting off parts of her body, or with large motion-marks all throughout.

Sara went pale, her eyes opening wide, and her whole body trembling with fear. She stared disbelievingly at the walls, noting the different windows the photos could have been taken from. She was reminded of Nick's stalker nearly six years ago, and a spike of nervousness and anxiety coursed down her spine and flowed to her very fingertips.

Greg walked to the center of the room, making himself a path between the discarded loaf of half-eaten rye bread, and a package of AA batteries. After moving a can of Coke off of a small coffee table, he was able to see a tape recorder underneath. Using a glove over his hand, he poked Play on the machine.

"Sara, I knew you'd find this." The same gruff voice from her cell phone messages bounced through the room. "You're such a smart CSI. So smart, seductive, sensual, Sara Sidle. I like watching you, you know. The way you move when you think no one is watching is mind-blowing. But I'm watching you all the time, Sara. I'm even watching you right now."

The tape clicked off when it reached the end. Brass immediately called his men out to do a sweep of the neighboring rooms, and Sara rocked back and forth on her heels, swaying as though she were seasick. Grissom made it over to her right as she collapsed, her weight crumpling into his arms as he scooped her up bridal-style and carried her out the door. Over his shoulder, he called "Meet me back at the lab", and got into the elevator to head towards his car.

--

Sara awoke to the smell of coffee, and her eyes opened slowly to the fluorescent lights shining down on her. Blinking, she poked her head up a bit, still unsure of where she was.

"She's awake." Sara barely recognized Nick's voice as he spoke. Like a swarm of ants, she was suddenly showered with attention. Grissom clasped her hand in his, and placed a mug of coffee in front of her.

"You've been out for about an hour, Sara."

Nodding that she understood, Sara took a swig of her coffee, hardly registering the burning sensation as the hot liquid cascaded down her throat. Grissom looked a bit concerned, but he chose not to speak, and clicked his mouth shut when Ecklie walked into the break room.

"Sidle, we're going to need a statement from you."

The night shift CSIs all shot him a deathly glare, but the Assistant Lab Director just brushed it off. With a flippant motion of his hand, he shooed the rest of them out, and ushered a cop in, who sat directly across from her. Taking one more gulp of coffee, she began to tell what happened.

Nearly two hours later, Sara walked out of the break room, all intent on processing the evidence. She couldn't do anything else—this was her comfort, and she needed to feel comfortable. Suddenly, Grissom's hand snaked out and caught her wrist and led her into his office, his hand resting protectively against the small of her back. Sara slid down into the hard office chair, and Grissom simultaneously shut the door and the blinds.

"Sara, there's not much more you can do here. We got a statement from you, got your DNA and phone records, and are now following a few leads. You should go home."

"But Gris, no one's checked the recorder for fingerprints yet! What if there are prints in the database, and h-"

"Honey," he interrupted gently, placing a hand over hers as he rubbed her fingers with the pad of his thumb, "Nick is processing the tape recorder right now for prints. There's conflict of interest with you in this case, and I can't have you working any evidence. Think about how it would look in the courts if you ran your own case."

When she was about to speak out again, Grissom grabbed her small hand in his and placed a delicate kiss on the inside of her wrist.

"I'll keep you safe, honey. C'mon," he added, "I'll drive you home."

As an overwhelming sense of déjà vu washed over her, she found herself walking next to Grissom on the way to his Denali, their hands covertly clasped together between them. She realized suddenly that he was always there to pick up her broken pieces; no matter how many times she had shattered, her hand always sought his for comfort. After her DUI, he had given her his hand, and a ride home, not once regarding her with a condescending tone, but instead telling her of his past to get her mind off of things. Like how his mother was deaf, and how his father couldn't handle that and eventually left

them. And how he had heard twenty years later that his father had passed away when he was only nine –getting himself involved with drugs and having a gambling debt that he couldn't pay back. Sara supposed that was why she opened up to him many months later about her own family. One from a broken home could understand someone else's pain, she reasoned. And he did, placing a calloused hand over her own, rubbing small gentle circles around her knuckles. The thoughts about having a murder gene had been swirling about her mind for twenty eight years, and in one simple gesture, he had erased that thought completely.

Of course, Sara reasoned, she'd done a fair bit of comforting herself. He'd had many doubts throughout their relationship, though it had been very short. They were never about whether he loved her, as he whispered that over and over again when he placed hot kisses against her neck. He still seemed genuinely surprised that someone as beautiful as he would want to be with someone like him. Those were his words, as Sara did not think she was particularly beautiful, but she always got a tingly feeling whenever he stared at her long legs when he thought she wasn't watching. Just staying seemed to be a comfort to him, and reiterating the fact that she was not ready to end the relationship. "I'm not ready to say goodbye" had been her words, and Grissom seemed to feel a little better after that.

Sara didn't realize they had pulled up to his townhouse until Grissom leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt. She mumbled thanks and got out of the car, walking up the stairs that she could have navigated blind. Grissom reached around her to open the door. Sara headed immediately towards the soft leather couch, kicking off her shoes and leaning back into the cushion. With her eyes closed, she heard Grissom drop her stuff off in the living room and putter about in the kitchen a bit. She chuckled softly when she heard a plastic glass drop on the floor, followed by a hoarsely whispered "Shit!" as he tried not to bother her.

"I'm glad you find my antics funny." He drawled, and she cracked open an eyelid. There were two glasses of Chardonnay in his hands, and he offered one to her.

"Hilarious." Sara smirked as she reached out and took a sip, the sweet liquid making her brain relax. Grissom took his place next to her, and wrapped his arm around her neck. She leaned into his embrace and snuggled up to his shoulder with a contented sigh.

After a while, Grissom rumbled "You should probably try getting some sleep" into her hair, his breath tickling her scalp.

"I'm fine." She mumbled sleepily. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she tried to keep a neutral expression, but a single yawn betrayed her.

"You haven't slept soundly in at least two days, honey."

Even as he led her to his large bed, Sara made small sounds of protest. Reluctantly, she stripped down to her undershirt and panties and slid into the bed. Grissom pulled the covers up to her chin, and she mumbled something as she curled up into the pillow, her hair rumpling underneath her as she flipped on her side to face him.

"You'll be safe at my place." He assured her, dropping a small kiss on her forehead to which she smiled sleepily. "I'll double lock all of the doors before I leave, just to be sure."

He placed another kiss above her brow and turned off the beside lamp. On his way out the door, he heard her mumble "Love you", her voice thick with sleep. With a small grin, he shut the door behind him.

---

Sometime later, Sara awoke to a slight dip in the mattress, her body rolling slightly downhill and into something warm and squishy.

"Griss?" she asked sleepily, opening a single eye to look at the clock beside the bed. She'd only been asleep for about an hour. Groaning, she pressed her face down into the pillow, burrowing like a small rodent.

"Yeah, it's me, honey."

"What're youdoin'her?" she asked in a rush of breath, rolling over to see his face.

"I got about halfway to work," he started, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, "when I realized that I couldn't function at work today knowing you were here alone. Call it manly pride, but I just want to keep you safe."

"What about work?"

"The team's got it covered. You know they can survive one shift without me. I put Warrick in charge and drove home as fast as I could." He grinned, sliding under the covers and wrapping an arm around her waist. "I couldn't get here fast enough."

Color rose to Sara's cheeks, and she slid back into the curve of his body. She'd never really found spooning comfortable or intimate until she had done so with Grissom. Somehow their bodies just seemed to press together perfectly, her head resting in his chest and his chin sitting atop the crown of her head.

With a borderline mischievous grin, Sara wriggled back into him, immensely enjoying Grissom's sharp intake of breath, and the way the muscles in his arm tensed around her waist.

"Don't start something you can't finish." He said with a lilt of amusement, the words muffled as he lipped her hair.

"Who said I wouldn't be able to finish it?" she asked innocently, wishing that Grissom could see her expression and vice versa.

Grissom sighed, the air blowing a piece of her hair forward across her ear. "You really should be asleep." He sounded defeated already, though, and Sara shook her hair to loosen it in his face.

"Well, I'll surely be able to fall asleep easier once I'm physically exhausted enough to match the emotional exhaustion."

Grissom was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in contemplation as he placed light kisses along her scalp. Abruptly, he tightened the arm around her waist, and before Sara could emit more than a thrilled squeak, flipped them over so that he was above her.

"Well I can't argue with that logic." He said with a smug grin, leaning forward to kiss a trail along her jaw line. His tongue caught her earlobe, and she squirmed as his teeth grazed along the back of her ear.

Sara forcefully grabbed his neck with her hands and brought his lips to hers, meeting them together with a spark of electricity that seemed to pass between them. Grissom lightly ran his tongue across her lower lip, begging for access, which she granted immediately with a barely contained moan. With strong hands he grasped both of her wrists, pinning them at her sides. Sara struggled, but not really, and seemed more compliant once Grissom started placing chaste kisses along her collarbone. He kicked off the covers with a jerk of his hips, and sighed as he stared down at her body. Sara wriggled under his gaze.

"Half the unwrapping is already done." He mused dejectedly, shifting her wrists above her head and grabbing them with one hand, using the other to trace a line along her shoulders. "That takes away half of the fun."

"I could...go put my clothes...back on" she murmured hazily, pausing after every few words.

"Nothatsokay." Grissom exhaled in one quick breath. Sara chuckled throatily, and would have kept laughing, had Grissom not dropped a kiss right above the lacy edge of her bra. Her hips bucked involuntarily upwards, and she ground her pelvis furiously against his thigh, drawing a moan from his lips. With nimble fingers, Sara unzipped the fly to his pants and shoved them down forcefully. Grissom wriggled out of them and paused in his ministrations to yank his shirt over his head, hearing a button snap off but thinking nothing of it. Sara squirmed without his touch, and mewled when he grinned cheekily and unclasped the front of her bra with his teeth. Rolling her hips along with her shoulders, she worked her way out of the bra straps.

Grissom stopped for a moment and stared, his eyes raking over every inch of her body as she lay prone beneath him. His whole body twitched with excitement, and Sara blinked up at him through large bedroom eyes, the color turning a smoky brown. When she couldn't stand being apart from him any longer, she delicately reached out a foot and stroked it along his groin, to which Grissom took a sharp intake of breath and mumbled "Fuck!" as he dove down at her again. She inched his boxers down with her toes as he ripped her panties from her body, promising her with a whisper that he would buy her new ones.

They came together as only lovers do, emitting a pair of moans that started in one mouth and ended in the other as their lips crashed together, tongues darting out to tango with each other. Grissom pulled his mouth away after a few moments and ran his tongue along the top of her breasts, licking the sheen of sweat from her body. Sara whimpered lightly and bucked her hips again, the two of them squawking nearly inhuman sounds as she did so.

Grissom moved his lips to her ear, nipping her earlobe with the edges of his teeth. "Loveyouloveyouloveyou" he panted, nuzzling her neck with his nose. Sara felt her entire body convulse, and she mewled loudly as she shook, her body tense and her head lolled back against the pillow. Grissom followed her soon after, crying her name as he came over the edge.

They lay there panting for uncountable moments before he flipped them over to the side. Sara snuggled up against him, laying her nose in the hollow of neck.

"I'm all for the post-coital chat," she mumbled into his chest, "but if it's okay with you, I'd rather just go to sleep."

Grissom chuckled tiredly. "That's perfectly alright with me, honey." He placed a kiss on her forehead and rested his chin against her hair.

Sara drifted off to sleep, the thought of stalkers, and work far from her mind. With Grissom, she knew she was safe.


	9. Chapter 9 Yen

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Yen. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9**

"What?!" Grissom shouted into his cell phone early the next morning. He was in the hallway, just outside of his room. He had left the door slightly ajar so he moved into the kitchen, lest he wake Sara.

"The prints came back," Nick repeated on the other line, "to Dr. Vincent Lurie."

Grissom felt his face grow hot. He sat down in a chair and remembered the man that had gotten away. The one who killed Debbie Marlin. The woman who looked so much like Sara.

"Alright," Grissom said through clenched teeth. "I'll be there as soon as possible." He hung up the phone and headed back to his room. He watched her as she slept. She was so beautiful. He leaned over and lightly kissed her eyes, her nose, and finally her mouth. She blinked up at him trying to brush away the cobwebs of sleep.

"Morning," he said softly to her.

"Morning." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Nick called. They need us at the lab right away."

"Okay," she said and pushed herself out of bed. "Just let me get a quick shower and we can leave."

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot in front of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Grissom turned off the engine and listened as it cooled.

"Sara," he softly whispered. "There's something you need to know." He grabbed her hand. "The prints came back to Dr. Lurie."

Sara felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise just as a chill ran down her spine. She pushed back the wave of nausea that threatened to spill out and said, "Let's go in. They're waiting for us."

They headed towards the conference room where the rest of the team was discussing the case. As they passed Ecklie's office he called out to her. "I need to see you in my office."

She exchanged a look with Grissom that said to go on without her; she'd join him when she could.

"Sidle, you're going to work a robbery at a service station on the strip," Ecklie said without preamble. She had just sat down.

"What? Ecklie, we've got a hot case. We know whose been stalking me. We need to find him and see how he's connected to the triple homicide."

He held up a hand. "You're not working your own stalking case. Don't you remember what almost happened with Nick?"

Of course she did. Everyone did. Nick's stalker, Nigel Crane, had broken into his house and almost shot him.

"We can't lose a CSI. I've told your team where you'll be."

She left his office still slightly pissed that she couldn't work this case anymore. She headed out to Sophia's car. They'd ride out to the service station together.

Grissom was barely listening to Warrick. He was going on about how Lurie might know the victims from the triple homicide. Warrick was interrupted by Brass.

"PD picked up Lurie at the airport. They just brought him in." the balding detective said.

"I'm going with you to questioning." Grissom said. "Nick come with us. The rest of you, keep looking for the connection."

In the interrogation room, Dr. Lurie stood smugly behind the table, his six figure lawyer beside him.

"Hello, Gil," Lurie said. "How's Sara doing today? She looks sexy in that top."

Before he knew what was happening, Grissom pulled back his arm, and with the force of all his weight, threw his fist at Lurie's face. He heard the snap as he fist connected with Lurie's chin. Nick and Brass were quickly pulling him off.

"Whoa, whoa." Brass said. "Grissom, maybe you better sit this one out."

He glared at Lurie silently before leaving the room and heading to his office. It wouldn't be long before Ecklie was there. Just like he thought, he stormed into his office fifteen minutes later.

"What the hell were thinking, Gil? You may have just cost us this case! He's threatening to sue. I think you need to take a few days off to cool down."

Grissom didn't say anything. He just collected some paperwork, that he probably wouldn't do, grabbed his cell phone, and pushed past the pasty, weasel looking man.

Sara stood in front of the mirror in Grissom's, no her's and Grissom's bedroom, that would take some time to get used to, admiring the way she looked. She wasn't vain, but she thought she looked good. She was wearing a form fitting, pale blue, V-neck dress. God, she thought, when was the last time she had worn a dress? Kindergarten, she realized with a little laugh. It was the first day of school and her mother had put her in a frilly pink dress. She'd torn it during recess and muddied it. As soon as she came home she tore it off, declaring she would never wear one again. And she hadn't. Until tonight.

Two days had passed since Lurie had been brought in. They'd found the gun he used buried under medical files in his office. They'd also found a cassette tape mangled in his trash can. Archie had been able to recover what was on it. Apparently, Beth Monroe, his half sister, had learned that he was stealing experimental drugs, and planned to blackmail him for a larger inheritance from their recently deceased father. He confessed to killing her. The two men were collateral damage. In hopes of a lighter sentencing he'd also confessed to killing Debbie Marlin and stalking Sara. He had confused the two in his twisted mind.

Sara pushed the case out of her mind and went to put on the small diamond earrings Grissom had bought her for Christmas. Just as she put the backing on her earring the doorbell rang. Odd, she thought. Who on Earth could that be?

Grissom sat on his couch staring blankly at the television. He had no idea what was on; he was thinking of tonight He was taking Sara out to dinner and then they were catching a show at the Tangiers. He was taking a risk going someplace a colleague might spot them but he didn't give a damn anymore. Sara was right. They should tell everyone about them. Couldn't keep it a secret forever. Just then the doorbell sounded. He opened the door and found Hodges's grinning face on the other side.

"Hey boss," he said. "Thought you could use some company. I brought some beer." He held up the case of Budweiser and pushed his way inside. He looked at the television. "You're not watching college basketball? Come on, Grissom, it's March Madness." he said as he changed the channels, popped open a beer, and sank into Grissom's couch. Grissom stared at him dumbfounded.

"Grissom, who was at the door?" Sara called out, as she came into the living room.

"Oh, hey, Sara" Hodges said. "I didn't think you'd be here. Come watch the game with us. Got to keep Grissom out of trouble."

She looked at the two men in confusion. "Hodges, we were just getting ready to go out."

"Oh, I loved to join you!" he said and jumped off the couch. He reminded Grissom of a lonely puppy dying for affection. He needed to get laid. Maybe Sophia could help him out.

"Hodges," Grissom said. "Sara and I were going out. Alone. Just the two of us."

"Oh," he said softly. "I see." He grabbed the beer and froze mid-way to the door. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh-ho-ho!" He jabbed Grissom in the side with his elbow. "You sly dog! It's about time! Alright, I'm outie. You two crazy kids have fun. Don't do anything Ol' Spanky wouldn't do," he said with a wink and closed the door behind.

Grissom and Sara bursted into hearty laughter. As the laughter died down, Grissom got a good look at Sara. He whistled softly.

"God, Sara, you look gorgeous," he whispered.

"Thank you. You don't look bad yourself."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her to him for a kiss. She put her hands on the back of shoulders and deepened the kiss. They pulled back after what seemed like hours.

"Let's go," He put his hand on the small of her back and led her out. He took another look at her and imagined ripping her dress off. It was going to be a long night.


	10. Chapter 10 Soapy

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Soapy. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

Grissom drove while Sara sat on the passenger seat with a calm expression on her face, her arm resting on the window frame as her hand traced waves in the warm Vegas air. A calm had settled on her; for some reason she knew that, although the past week and indeed the past half hour with Hodges had been hectic, this evening would go well. She just knew. The way she knew that nausea was bad and comfort was good. Sara was vaguely aware of where they were in Vegas, but she wasn't much paying attention. She just let Grissom drive; she had turned off her curiosity for the moment. That was something Sara very rarely did, being a natural scientist and investigator but it did happen sometimes, usually at times of contentment like this.

They traveled smoothly through the traffic and pulled up at the side of the road outside a restaurant. They weren't anywhere near the Strip, they were far away from the usual tourist areas. It was a restaurant Grissom had only recently discovered, when taking a walk after wrapping up a crime scene near-by. He had gone there by himself, a custom he still hadn't managed to break even after getting together with Sara, and had immediately decided that this was his new favorite restaurant. He hadn't taken Sara there yet, though, he was saving it for a special occasion.

They stepped silently out of the car and closed the doors, moving in comical unison so in tune to each other that they didn't even notice they were doing it. Doors shut, mounting the curb, Grissom motioning to the correct door and striding up to it. He opened it and turned to her.

"After you, my dear" he smiled and bowed his head slightly, letting Sara walk through in front of him.

"Ah, Mister Grissom. Welcome back, and finally we meet the lady. You must be Sara?" The smartly-dressed waiter said in a friendly tone as he spotted them walk through the door.

"Uh… " Sara started but didn't continue.

"Yes, this is Sara," Grissom interrupted, placing a hand on her waist and standing close beside her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He offered his hand and Sara shook it, warming instantly to the man as she had at first expected him to do something incredibly corny like plant a kiss on her knuckles. That sort of thing was fine with Grissom, but she wasn't so at ease with total strangers doing it. The waiter smiled and after a few more pleasantries, led them to a private table toward the back of the restaurant.

Once seated and presented with menus, the waiter left to deal with other customers and Grissom placed his hand softly over Sara's on the table, like he had done so many times before and would continue to do so many times into the future. He tucked his thumb between her thumb and index finger, with his fingers spread over her hand. Sara responded by stroking his thumb with hers absent-mindedly.

Sara noted the abundance of vegetarian dishes on the menu and mused silently, once again, how far she and Grissom had progressed since the days when he didn't even realize she was a vegetarian after a year of working together. Now, it seemed, Grissom had not only noted her choice of diet but had even started to consider her needs as his own. He had said this was his favorite restaurant and she really didn't think it was a conscious effort on his part to choose one as suitable as this but that it had become part of his sub-conscious to consider what she might like. She had realized a few times recently how Grissom had stopped thinking of himself as one separate person and had started seeing himself as half of a whole. Even if circumstances out of their control like Hodges and Vincent Lurie sometimes got in the way, as a couple they were stable and with a background like hers, that meant the world to Sara.


	11. Chapter 11 Maisy

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Maisy. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Note: Chapters edited for grammar and spelling by Trace but all writing is by the stated author. Thank you.**

**Chapter 11**

Nick walked into the trace lab his arms piled high with boxes. He barely made it to the table before he began to lose his grip. Hodges looked up from the microscope and gave an irritated sigh. "Stokes, what is all that?"

"What do you think it is," Nick scoffed, "your birthday present? It's evidence. You need to process it for trace."

Hodges gave him an arch look. "Since when do I do the processing? You process the evidence for trace, and then you bring that trace to me for analyzing."

"Look man, I've got a ton of work to do, and I have to meet Grissom when he gets in. Why do you think I'm here so early?" Nick patted one of the boxes. "Just do a little at a time and you'll get through it.

Hodges turned his head to hide a grin. "Something tells me that Grissom might be a little late tonight."

"Hodges, what are you talking about?" Nick said with exasperation. "Since when has Grissom ever been late?"

"Let's just say he might have certain distractions these days." He watched Nick puzzling through that piece of info. Taking pity on the poor uninformed lad, he relented. "Just leave it there. I'll get to it when I get to it." He went back to his microscope.

Nick shook his head. "Hodges, you don't know anything. I'll..." Nick was interrupted when Greg came sliding through the door.

"Is Grissom here?" He asked, his breath coming in quick rasps.

"Not yet. Why, what's wrong?" Nick forgot about Hodges as he turned toward Greg.

"The report just went out. Dr. Lurie escaped. They were transferring him, and the bus he was on was in an accident. They don't know what happened yet, but when the dust settled, he was gone."

Nick and Hodges exchanged looks. Hodges picked up his phone, all his previous smugness gone. "We'd better call Grissom."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The entire night shift plus Ecklie sat around the conference table. "Okay, here's what we know." Ecklie started. "The bus was headed down the Expressway, when a tractor trailer jackknifed in front of it. The driver swerved to avoid a collision, but the bus tipped over and rolled into the median. By the time the rescue workers reached the bus, they found only the driver.. He's in stable condition at Desert Palm." He passed around some photos of the scene that day shift had taken. "There was some blood on one of the seats and the window beside it, but no trail outside of the bus."

"Where exactly on the Expressway did this occur?" Grissom asked.

"Just past the North Rancho Dr. exit." Ecklie sighed.

"So he could have gone just about anywhere." Sara said with a guarded expression.

Grissom watched her as Ecklie droned on. Finally the meeting was over, and Grissom steered Sara into his office once everyone had disappeared. He closed the door, and locked it. The blinds were already drawn. He pulled her into his arms, and held her. She didn't cry, but she snuggled into his arms, and sighed.

"What do we do now?" She asked, her voiced muffled by his shirt.

"Wait. Brass is on it. They'll find him soon." He pulled back to look at her. "Now, what do you say we get to work? The sooner this night goes by, the sooner we can go home."

"I'm all for that." She whispered leaning up to brush his mouth with hers. "I can't wait to get home."

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12 Slade

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Slade. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Note: Chapters edited for grammar and spelling by Trace but all writing is by the stated author. Thank you.**

**Chapter 12**

As Grissom drove Sara back to his house, Sara turned on the radio. Playing was a soft ,sweet song that gave an impression of hope and love. Sara couldn't help but look at Grissom and smile. "Sure reminds me of better times."

As the song ended the announcer came on. "There is a report of isolated thunder storms around the Nevada area which may bring heavy rain and wind and should last till 11:00 PM so it's a good Idea to keep the driving to a minimal as visibility may be at a low so stay tuned for more great music and weather updates" At that moment a drop of rain fell upon the windshield followed by two more.

Grissom chuckled, "I guess weathermen are right sometimes." Sara chuckled too.

Indeed thunder storms came as predicted. The two lay snug together in a blanket, next to a roaring fire. They were on the couch, watching the flames crack merrily on the log, giving the feeling of comfort and warmth. Grissom looked out the window. The time was 11:30 PM and saw the rain was slowing to a stop. "You know this would really be great if there was some wine," Grissom said with a smirk .

"Why?" Sara said smirking back

"I just think it's more romantic."

"Looks like the rain stopped, why don't you go pick some up" Sara said Grissom looked at her with a concerned look.

"I don't think that's really safe as of now."

Sara smiled understanding what Grissom meant but assured him she would be safe. "Nobody knows we're here, I just lock the door and I'll be safe. Don't worry."

Grissom sighed, "Alright but promise me you won't do anything to ruin my Asian beetle collection they will be worth a fortune someday."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Bugs bugs bugs" she thought and sighed. "At least I don't have to eat them" Grissom gave her a kiss and got up. A few minutes later Grissom was off to the nearest wine store and Sara sat on the sofa listening to the crackling of the fire and the dripping of the rain on the window.

Slowly her eyes drooped then a knock at the door came Sara got up. Grissom shouldn't be back this early. Sara got up and went to the peephole in the door and saw nobody. "Pranksters," she lamented. Sara only walked a few steps when she heard another knock at the door. Sara went back and looked through the peephole again and saw no one. Upset by the prankster Sara decided to catch him in the act by waiting by the door with her hand on the handle and sure enough the door knocked again. Right at the first knock Sara flung the door open and there stood Dr. Lurie. With a large butcher knife in his hand. His face turned in a wide evil smile. "Hello Baby." Sara screamed and awoke in a gasp.

She was still sitting on the couch by the fire. The flames were burning low. She had fallen asleep and had a nightmare. A sudden flow of relief washed over her as thunder rumbled outside. She wished Grissom would be back soon. She went to the bathroom and splashed some cool water on her face bringing a loss of tiredness and went back to the couch and turned on the TV. A special bulletin was playing. "The escaped convict Dr Lurie was found in an abandoned motel room. Police forces apprehended the suspect just mere minutes ago after an anonymous caller identified him from his Wanted poster. Police forces stormed the room as Lurie attempted to use a gun and shoot anyone who got in his way but the force was able to wrestle him down and apprehend the suspect. Lieutenant Jim Brass is here quoted: " I'm Glad to see this punk will be behind bars soon enough."

Sara smiled . "Grissom will really be glad to hear this" she thought, knowing that the threat was over. She pinched her cheek and from the sharp pain she knew it was not another dream. Sighing, she fell back on the sofa.

Then, in a flash of lightning, something icy was pressed against her mouth and nose. Struggling against the intruder, she fell off the sofa. There was someone in the house! With eyes wide in panic, she saw a nightmare— a man was standing over her with a red painted face with black streaks running down like some wild man out of hell. He was holding a cloth which gave off the sweet aroma of Chloroform and in his other hand a small bag. Towering over Sara, he leaned down and grabbed her throat and chuckled evilly. "Do you fear me? He said in an almost demon -like voice Sara struggled against the fiend but his grip was to hard. The man opened the bag he was holding and placed his free hand in and pulled out worms. Long, slimy night crawlers. But what Sara saw as most disturbing was the man put them in his mouth and ate them and if that wasn't disgusting enough he let them slime down his red face and onto Sara's body. Crying from fear and disgust the monster put the rag to her face again Sara felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness but could still make out what he was saying. "You are the first of my victims. It is your fear that gives me power. I'm the Boogeyman and I've come to get you." Sara's last memory was his evil laugh and the worms slithering all over her face then faded into sleep.


	13. Chapter 13 Misty

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by Misty. Any reviews will be passed on to her. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13**

Sara, are you okay?" She awoke to find Grissom's very concerned face right in front of her own. "I know my cooking isn't the best, but did you really need to fall asleep in the spaghetti? It was my mother's recipe, after all."

"Huh? But..." She paused to think. She knew she was being silly. Bogeymen did not exist. It was just another nightmare. As she reached up to rub her eyes, her hand contacted something sticky. Blood? No, just spaghetti sauce. Sara sat quietly for a minute, processing. She woke up, saw the news report about Dr. Lurie, sat on the couch, and she must have fallen asleep again. Grissom's laugh cut through her thoughts, a major chord in a minor song.

"Dear, I think you might want to take a shower. You have spaghetti sauce everywhere." His blue eyes twinkled. "I'll be upstairs in a minute; I just need to clean up this mess." Sara's cheeks reddened, but he couldn't see through the spaghetti sauce. Why was she so tired?

As she made her way upstairs, she reasoned that it could be the stress. But she'd never been this tired, not even at Harvard and Berkeley, taking every subject she could cram into her day. As she crossed into the bathroom, a possibility hit her. She dismissed it at first. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be. She, Sara Sidle, was being utterly ridiculous. Just in case, she reached into the drawer on the left of the sink, and pulled out a tiny box. Hands shaking, she opened it and read the instructions twice; it wouldn't do to mess this up. She followed the instructions carefully, and laid the First Responder pregnancy test on the counter, deciding to shower while she waited. She had just washed her hair when the room went dark. Over the shower she could hear the raging storm outside. She'd better get out before the water ran cold. Carefully, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Sara lit a match, glanced at the test on the counter, and was fervently grateful the power was out. That way, Grissom couldn't see the results. As she heard the door open, she quickly flicked the box into the trash, just in case.

"Good thing you like candles, the storm has knocked the power out. I brought up the wine, and some chocolate dipped strawberries." Sara smiled, and flung herself onto the bed, only to sit up very quickly. In the flickering candlelight, she could see Grissom blush. "I didn't know the power would be out, so I put roses on your pillow. I thought you'd see them, not land on them. I'll um, go get a band-aid." As he head to the bathroom with a candle, regretting the comedy of errors that his romantic evening had become, Sara realized a moment of panic. She had thrown the box away, but the test was still on the counter! There was no way to prevent Grissom from seeing it. He'd ask questions, too many for her taste. She watched in horror as he picked up the little stick and looked at it. "Sara, what is this?"

"Ummmmmmm..." How would she tell him that she'd taken a pregnancy test? And how could she possibly explain the way she felt about the results?


	14. Chapter 14 Trace

**Note: This is pat of the continuing story a group of people at tv .com is doing together. The following chapter was written by me, Trace! Thank you all for continuing to read and review! This may or may not be the last chapter…depends if we want to continue on this or move on to a different one! Either way, enjoy!**

**Chapter 14**

"Are you?" he asked again, gripping her shoulders to keep her from slipping away.

Sara was framed by moonlight as it streamed in through the bathroom window. It caught, gleaming, on her wet cheeks. "I don't know," she answered shakily, "it didn't give a definitive answer since you're supposed to take it first thing in the morning." Was she afraid? God, he sure was. Grissom murmured softly as he drew her against him. His nose tingled as her sweet-smelling hair tickled his chin. He could feel her heart fluttering through her chest and into his. One hand absently drew calming circles on her back.

A chill feeling sunk through him as thoughts rolled and tumbled in his head. _I could be a father…I'm too old to raise a child…I'm too old for any of this...no one even knows about us…are we getting married? Do I want to? Would we keep the baby—fetus— no, _baby? "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic," he said wryly. He shook the thoughts away.

Sara didn't seem to hear him, but he felt her breath heating his neck.

They stood like that, sobbing together in the dark, for a long time.

O O O

They leaned expectantly over the tiny piece of plastic on the counter. If she hadn't been so damn scared, she would have laughed. They were wearing white lab gloves, protective goggles, and had just finished sterilizing every surface in the house to limit possible contamination. "Okay, are you ready?" he rumbled beside her. They avoided looking down, or at each other, as the timer went off.

Sara's hand fumbled and then clasped his. A shaky breath slid through her lips. "Okay." They looked down.

The breath Grissom hadn't realized he was holding exploded from his mouth. "Two blue stripes," he whispered, almost in awe. A grin lit his features and he turned to Sara— who was smiling despite herself at his unexpected joy. Then he crushed his lips to hers.

It was hard to grin and make out at the same time. Her hands slid delicately around his neck as she opened her mouth to his. His hips nestled in to rest against hers. One hand slid beneath her shirt and— ooohh, that felt nice. "I love you," Grissom said between kisses and lifted her up onto the counter, maintaining the lovely contact of belly and belly. "I love you and you're having our baby."

Sara eyed him, through a lock of hair that had escaped. "You know, this is what got us into all this trouble in the first place." He ground his body against hers.

"Think of it as nine free months." Sara rested her head on his shoulder, planting a kiss at the corner of his eye.

"If you think you can handle the hormones," she whispered, mouth electrifyingly grazing the shell of his ear.

His lips slid down her strong neck to suckle the hollow between her breasts. They rocked together, breathing a little faster.

Grissom gently removed her shirt, goose bumps rising on the bare skin he left behind. Sara gave him a beckoning look, her mouth swollen and eyes hazed. Yes, he could do this. He could definitely do this.


End file.
